Distributors presently in common use throughout the world all employ a contact breaker arm which by force of a spring presses in close contact with a contact breaker. When the contact breaker is pressed closed, an electrical circuit will be completed. Distributors employing such elements have five major commonly recognized defects:
1. If the timing of the closing of the contacts of the circuit breaker is too slow, the spark plugs will fire late. If the contacts are closed for too long a period, although the magnetic field will be completely established, the firing will not be complete. Therefore, the firing of the spark plugs in the engine will not be able to maintain a stable, steady firing operation.
2. If the timing is too fast, the spark plugs will fire prematurely. As the contacts will be closed for too short a time, the electric current passing the ignition coil of the primary coil will be insufficient to establish a complete magnetic field. Therefore, the spark plugs will tend not to fire, or miss, during high speed operation.
3. If the spring of the breaker arm is too strong, it will damage the contact breaker.
4. If the spring is too loose or weak, there will be oscillation between the contacts, causing the spark plugs to miss during high speed operation.
5. In addition, it is very difficult to adjust the angle of the contact breaker to insure proper timing and proper breaking of contacts, and it is often because of the difficulty of adjustment and timing that the contacts are damaged by sparks upon breaking of the contact.